Student Council's Rules and Ethics Board made its first and, if history serves as a guide, only decision of the year this week. The board responded to an appeal from first-year College student Robin Short regarding the run-off election for second-year class president. The Rules and Ethics Board oversees all elections appeals.
A group of aspiring teachers is helping children in need and getting a jump-start on their careers in the process. Members of the University's chapter of the Student Virginia Education Association are involved in a variety of service activities benefiting children in the Charlottesville area. The University's SVEA, a pre-professional organization for teachers, is running a book drive, teaching computer skills to local children and volunteering at the Virginia Festival of the Book. In a first-time activity for the group, the SVEA will host a series of workshops to teach disadvantaged children how to search the Web or use Microsoft PowerPoint. "These are kids who don't have computers in their homes," said Lottie Baker, SVEA community service co-coordinator. Computers4Kids, a non-profit organization in Charlottesville, is sponsoring the workshops that SVEA will hold every Friday for four weeks, starting today. Aside from the instruction, Computers4Kids will give all the children who participate in the program a computer to keep, Computers4Kids Executive Director Kala Somerville said. The SVEA also is sponsoring a book drive for poor children that began March 18 and will continue until April 12.
Supreme court revives discrimination case Leonard Edelman, a former Lynchburg biology professor, sent a complaint letter to the employment commission in November 1997, six months after he was allegedly fired by the college
Your head is pounding -- you've been really tired lately. One minute you feel like you're burning up and the next minute you think your roommate forgot to pay the heating bill. You
The story of an 18-year-old unwed mother from Charlottesville, one of the thousands of Virginians to be involuntarily sterilized, is about to come to Virginia's attention.
Hitting the gym for some exercise and stress relief could put you in a dangerous situation - entering the gym potentially exposes you to a variety of infectious viruses, bacteria and fungi. Thousands of people can use a single gym on any given day, leaving behind germs that could make you sick. The germs lurk on weight benches, treadmills and floor mats - just about everywhere. Scientists call these common surfaces fomites, which harbor harmful microbes that can infect unsuspecting passersby. John MacKnight, professor of clinical internal medicine and orthopedics, has witnessed first-hand the effects of germs at the gym. University athletes who use the same training room often experience infection in waves. "If someone has a stomach flu and they have a little viral contamination on their hands at the gym, it is on the machine for the next person to pick up," Mac-Knight said. "How long the pathogen can live depends on the type of surface it is on and the moisture and humidity level," Immunology Prof.
Yellow ribbons will be distributed around Grounds next week as part of a student-initiated campaign to promote awareness of suicide and depression. Known as "Lifting the Darkness," the week-long initiative will commence for the first time Monday and include the distribution of yellow ribbons and information cards, a panel discussion and free depression screening by University Counseling and Psychological Services. A vigil for those whose lives have been affected by depression or suicide will conclude the week's activities next Thursday night. Participants in the vigil will meet at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, from which point they will walk in darkness to the Rotunda.
ES uses electrical current to induce muscular contractions, simulating what happens when you lift weights. Physical therapists routinely use ES to increase the muscular strength of patients recovering from surgery or from muscle strains and tears. But health experts still are debating the merits of ES as a fitness tool for healthy athletes and the general public. Susan Saliba, a senior associate athletic trainer at the McCue Sports Medicine Center, routinely uses ES to treat injured athletes. But "we don't use it to make them stronger," Saliba said. Researchers have identified a major difference between ES-stimulated and normally stimulated muscle fiber contraction - ES targets "fast twitch" muscle fibers more effectively. Since "fast twitch" muscle fibers have a larger diameter and lower electrical resistance than smaller "slow twitch" muscle fibers, the applied electrical current takes the path of least resistance through the "fast twitch" fibers. According to Saliba, this causes greater muscle fatigue.
A small group of students came together last night in Monroe Hall to discuss University-Charlottesville relations in a Black Student Alliance-sponsored forum.
For the second year in a row, the University's Arabic Studies department has produced undergraduates who have earned an opportunity usually exclusively reserved for professors and graduate students.
With the basketball season complete, the new regulations for this year's "Hooville" and the inauguration of Team Cavalier appear to have been a resounding success. "This was leaps and bounds better than what system was in place, which was basically not a system," said Duane Propst, athletic department coordinator of promotions and special events.
University students from Fauquier County, Va., now may find it easier to receive financial aid, thanks to a gift from the estate of renowned philanthropist Paul Mellon. All students from Fauquier County applying for financial aid automatically will be considered for the Paul Mellon Scholarships, which will be completely need based. "The credit belongs to the executors and Mr. Mellon himself, and his long term relationship with the University," said Charles Fitzgerald, associate vice president of development, who helped Mellon's estate establish the fund. Mellon's estate gave a $3 million endowment to establish the scholarship, along with $150,000 to cover the aid of Fauquier County students already enrolled and incoming students next year. "It was very thoughtful to give the extra $150,000.
Responding to fiscal pressure from higher education budget cuts, Virginia Tech on Monday became the first state school in seven years to raise tuition for in-state students. Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors approved 4.8 percent and 7 percent total cost increases for in-state and out-of-state students, respectively. "Like [the University] we are taking the largest cuts in the state," Virginia Tech Spokesman Larry Hincker said.
Hoping to combat childhood hunger in the Charlottesville community, University coaches announced they will host the first-ever Taste of the Game fund-raiser May 5. Twelve University coaches will offer training on fundamentals and advanced strategies to local area youth and families who participate. Coaches also will speak in a number of information sessions on a range of topics including sports conditioning and maintaining a balance between academics and athletics. Tickets for the one-day event will be $15.
Controversy abounds over the University's most recent requests to increase the amount of fuel used at its main heating facility on Jefferson Park Avenue. Both state and local officials have voiced their apprehensions about the consequences of burning coal. In a letter to area neighborhoods, City Councilman Kevin Lynch said he was "very concerned about the potential adverse effects of operating a large coal burning facility in an urban area." These effects include possible health risks to area residents such as respiratory trouble and environmental effects such as acid rain and smog, Lynch said.
In a battle of lawsuits, class action files and petitions, the medical ramifications of a popular drug market commodity are now being contested.
In a move that reflects years of gradual reform, the department of government and foreign affairs changed its name to the department of politics. The Board of Visitors approved the change at their Jan.
Due in part to an alarming rise in the illicit usage of the painkiller drug OxyContin, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation earlier this month which will require the Director of the Department of Health Professions to establish the Prescription Monitoring Program.
The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Visitors decided before Spring Break that the new basketball arena should contain 15,000 seats, perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 of which would be reserved for students. The University hired a Charlottesville-based architectural firm, V.M.D.O., which works in conjunction with a Kansas City firm called Ellerbee Becket, to design the arena, which would replace the over 35-year-old University Hall where the University's basketball teams now play. Ellerbee Becket is "the preeminent basketball arena design firm in the country," University architect Pete Anderson said. In a March 7 meeting with representatives of the firms, the committee decided the arena should contain 15,000 seats, Board member Terence P.
Following weeks of speculation and debate, the Virginia General Assembly overwhelmingly passed its $50.5 billion budget for 2003-2004 on March 9. The budget calls for intense cuts to funding for higher education institutions across the state.
